Recipe Ideas?

I have my fall school plans all set and they involve very busy days — which is a good thing — we will be doing school in the morning four days a week and have extracurricular activities in the early afternoon four days a week.  This means that we will be back home for dinner and our family story and bedtime routine and I will have my evenings free to wind down or be with my husband.  My only fear is that walking in the door at 5 pm with hungry kids could slide quickly into a TV and frozen pizza routine, which would be a bummer.  I want to head this off by planning meals which I can prep early in the day and activities that the kids can do while I am getting dinner on the table.

The routine should go like this:  empty your stuff out of the car and shower/change, then one child will help set the table while the others do a contained, planned activity, a school table full of legos or playdough or puzzles or drawing.

So, I will have about a half hour to get the meal ready for the table, which should be plenty of time if I have done some prep early in the day.  My problem is that every recipe I have come up with to make in advance involves ground beef — it is so easy to get the taco meat or spaghetti sauce going early.  I think the slow cooker could also be a help here.

Anyone have any suggestions for a healthy meal that will wait for us, casseroles or crockpot specials, or ingredients that can be prepped and then quick sauteed?

Our budget and waistlines will thank you if you save us from the temptation of takeout!